Increase Enrollment and Revenue through Differentiation January - PDF document

1/24/2017 Increase Enrollment and Revenue through Differentiation January 24, 2017 Kris Murray President & Founder What We’ll Cover Today • How to define your program’s “key value differentiators” to attract more families to your program • How to identify additional products and services that will bring in more revenue than tuition and other funding without “fundraising” • Strategies for launching your new products and services • How to locate resources to support your new revenue boosting campaigns • Open Q&A But first…just a couple minutes about my background. I’ve been a coach and consultant exclusively for early childhood businesses since 2009. 1

1/24/2017 I’ve written two published books on the topic. I’ve been featured in USA Today, Newsweek, Entrepreneur Magazine, and Child Care Exchange – to name a few. I just received the Moving America Forward award from William Shatner & Doug Lewellyn. 2

1/24/2017 I’ve met countless celebrities as I try to move the cause of early childhood education forward. Stedman Graham Leeza Gibbons Gene Simmons Sean Astin Most importantly, I get the chance to serve over 300 awesome ECE owners and their staff, with my coaching programs. Here’s a good chunk of our main program, the Child Care Success Academy . That was a good day. ;-) 3

1/24/2017 Which means my team and I get to have a positive impact on literally thousands of families with young children. And here’s a recent pic of me with my kids, Owen and Maeve. This was taken a couple weeks ago on Christmas Eve. We live in a tiny mountain town in Colorado. It’s Better to Be DIFFERENT than GOOD • Parents assume you do a quality job • They haven’t been educated about the real differences in child cares and preschools • They don’t know what accreditation really is or what it requires • At the end of the day, they really just want to know how your program is DIFFERENT than the others they are considering 4

1/24/2017 If you leave it up to them to figure out your differentiating value … …they have no choice but to decide based on price and/or location . Four Steps to Identify Your “Differentiating Value” 1. Get clear on what your competitors offer / are saying 2. Know your clients and prospects 3. Identify the top 3-4 differences you have that are important to your market 4. Play with the verbiage to make them “pop” “Differences” Re -Defined Before: After: - Loving, caring staff - Combined teacher experience of 232 years - Award-winning curriculum - Small class sizes which supports individual - Meals and snacks learning included - Fresh fruit and veggies at - Indoor playground every meal (not canned) - Outdoor classroom with nature-based features incorporated into curriculum 5

1/24/2017 The 3 Ways We’re Different (from most other programs in the area) • We are NAEYC accredited which holds us to a higher standard of quality (kind of like the Good Housekeeping seal of approval) • We have a nature-scape playground that backs to open space and ponds (which kids love) • We provide fresh fruits & veggies at every meal or snack (not canned fruit) A List of Unique Benefits & Features to Get You Started… • • Free diapers Teacher tenure / degrees • • Largest playground On-site owner • • Indoor playground Longest in market • • Fresh fruit & veggies Multiple generations attended • • Organic meals Owned by a local mom • • Transportation Homework Club • • Accreditations Activities all-inclusive • • Special programs (baby yoga) Digital parent communication app • “Best of” award • Daily photos / videos sent • ZONO (cleaner, no bleach) electronically • State of the art security • Eco-Healthy certified • Online camera system (PB&J www.ecohealthychildcare.org TV) Brochure Example – Back Child’s World Academy (NY) 6

1/24/2017 Educational Playcare (CT) http://www.educationalplaycare.com Woodcrest Preschools (CA) http://www.woodcrestpreschool.com/ Ways to Figure This Out • Study Your Competition (mystery call, shop, visit their website, ask to be sent info) • Ask Your Parents – Surveys – “Focus Groups” • Ask Your Staff • Create (add) a Unique Benefit that matches your market 7

1/24/2017 Poll Time! Advanced: Segment by Age Infants/Toddlers - Free diapers & wipes Preschool / PreK - Baby sign language - 2 photos/day sent real time - Formal Kindergarten Readiness through Tadpoles program - PreK teacher has 23 years of experience in Kindergarten and After-School Pre-K - Homework Club run by former 2 nd - Fun monthly field trips that grade teacher support learning goals - State of the art gaming station (after homework is done) - Special playground designed to appeal to older kids The “Kris Murray Value Platform” Owner’s Story / Expertise Expert Endorsements Awards / Accreditations Testimonials / Reviews (especially focused on childrens ’ transformations) Unique Benefits / Differences 8

1/24/2017 “Laugh Break” My high school graduation, 1984 Adding New Streams of Revenue / Income to Your Program Four Popular Methods for Adding Revenue Streams 1. Partner with 3 rd party products and services, to sell to your families – Convenience items like portraits, hair cuts, take- home dinner services – Curriculum boxes or learn-at-home items 2. Add new services to your program, that tie in with your core offering – Birthday parties, tutoring services, school age “vacation camps”, mommy & me yoga on Saturdays or weeknights 9

1/24/2017 Four Popular Methods for Adding Revenue Streams 1. Partner with 3 rd party products and services, to sell to your families – Convenience items like portraits, hair cuts, take- home dinner services – Curriculum boxes or learn-at-home items 2. Add new services to your program, that tie in with your core offering – Birthday parties, tutoring services, school age “vacation camps”, mommy & me yoga on Saturdays or weeknights Four Popular Methods for Adding Revenue Streams 3. Events Held at Your School - Mom to Mom sales (entrance fee) - Seminars, parenting workshops 4. Leasing Out Your Space on Off Times (weekends or evenings after close) - Church groups, Girl/Boy Scout meetings, AA Meetings, Weight Watchers, other community meetings looking for a home Four Popular Methods for Adding Revenue Streams 3. Events Held at Your School - Mom to Mom sales (entrance fee) - Seminars, parenting workshops 4. Leasing Out Your Space on Off Times (weekends or evenings after close) - Church groups, Girl/Boy Scout meetings, AA Meetings, Weight Watchers, other community meetings looking for a home 10

1/24/2017 Other Innovative Revenue Ideas • Special drop-in programs – Gainesville “Gator Kids” club on Saturdays • Membership programs • “Preferred” Waiting List – pay a fee to cut the line • Retail shop or coffee bar added to your lobby • Amazon Prime • Partner with local elementary to run their before/after school program Think Strategically… • Be clear about your purpose / goal! • To add $10K/month in revenue (so we won’t have to fundraise) • To add value to our parent experience (which will help family retention) • To add unique benefits / differentiation (which will help enrollment) • Think about the time it will take vs. the payback How to Launch New Products and Services • Create a launch plan (mini — marketing plan) for your new offering • When will you announce it? • How will you promote it? • Will there be an initial “deal” or incentive offered? • Always use a deadline for taking action • REMIND people often 11

1/24/2017 7 Effective Ways to Promote a Launch or Special Offer 1. Facebook ads or “boosted” posts 2. Email blasts to your list 3. A landing page on your website, as well as a blurb on your home page 4. Your Google Maps page / listing 5. Your parent newsletter 6. Add special signage (banners, flutter flags, etc) 7. Community marketing / “muffin runs” Resources for Adding New Revenue Streams • ECE groups – LinkedIn, FB, coaching programs • Mommy blogs (always promoting cool new products) • Companies that serve parents with young children – Such as Dilly’s Treehouse, the sponsor of this webinar • Local community resources – Chamber of Commerce, Mommy and Me groups, local businesses that target your shared demographic audience Summary • It’s better to be different than to be good • You must tell parents your unique VALUE • A great way to differentiate yourself is by adding unique programs, services, or partnerships • Plus, these can provide additional revenue streams to your school • Be strategic about what path you choose • Launch effectively by having a plan and using multiple media 12

1/24/2017 Did You Know? The Child Care Success Summit 2017 650+ ECE owners and directors 30 exhibitors & sponsors The largest event in the world of its kind Join Us!! October 5-7, 2017 - CHICAGO www.childcaresuccesssummit.com A Thank You Gift for Being With Me Today Go to www.Childcare-Marketing.com/get-started And sign up for our free report : “5 Big Mistakes to Avoid When Building Your Successful Child Care TEAM” Thank You! Claim your Free Report at… www.Childcare-Marketing.com/ get-started Kris Murray President & Founder www.Childcare-Marketing.com kris@childcare-marketing.com Office Line: 970-349-8905 13